Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people – your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way.” –Barbara Bush
Wow it’s almost August…this summer is flying by. We’ve been very busy, but we haven’t done any of the things we did last summer. We just haven’t found the time to do the beautiful hikes or visit some of our favorite places. Although, we’re having a great time. Hopefully we’ll make our way back to some of those gorgeous spots before we go home in the fall.
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July 31 – What Happened to July
July 29 – Newfield Covered Bridge
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” ― Alexander Pope
I love covered bridges, they are so picturesque. A reminder of a simpler time when life was a little slower. There’s been a lot of rain in the area, so our usual route to Kyle’s home in Pennsylvania had several closed roads, so we had to go a different way. The benefit…seeing something new. Only 7-8 miles from the boat we spotted a covered bridge right here in Tompkins County. The Newfield Covered Bridge is the lone survivor of the three covered bridges that Tompkins County once boasted and is 1 of 24 authentic covered bridges left in the state of New York. It’s the oldest covered bridge still open to daily car traffic.
July 14 – Finger Lake International Dragon Boat Festival
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“The sensation of energy expands with increasing relaxation.”―Ilchi Lee
“The sensation of energy expands with increasing relaxation.”―Ilchi Lee
Today we went to the Finger Lake International Dragon Boat Festival, held at Taughannock Falls Park. Dragon boat races are one of the most typical traditions of Chinese Dragon Boat Festival which was traditional held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. They began in the Guangdong Province of China more than 2000 years ago. For more than 20 centuries the competition took place as a part of religious ceremonies and folk customs, but beginning in the 1970s dragon boat racing emerged as an international sport. But the history of dragon boats in competition reaches as far back as the same era as the original games of Olympia in ancient Greece.
July 13 – Finger Lake Cider House
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true” —Lyman Frank Baum
As we’ve said many times before…one of the things we like the best about being in Ithaca for the season is exploring all the great little places to sample locally made wine, cider, liquor and food. These small family owned places pride themselves in using fresh locally grown ingredients and the products they produce are wonderful.
Mid July Update
Allan H. Treman State Marine Park
Never say dreams are useless because useless is the life of those who can’t dream. —Jim Morrison
Just a little update to some of the things we’ve been doing since we returned from the western Erie Canal. The weather has been pretty hot this month…hot for New York and hot if you live on a boat with no insulation. Some days have been almost as hot as Texas, but at least those days don’t last long. So what do we do when it gets hot…we try to find a cool spot to spend the day. Some days that means going to a park on the lake and others it means going to a mall.
June 20 – Seneca Falls, NY
Seneca Falls Town Dock
“Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.” —Henry David Thoreau
The Cayuga-Seneca Canal is actually two short canals that join the Erie Canal to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. The first lock is about four miles south of the Erie Canal, this lock takes you into Cayuga Lake. We decided to complete the Cayuga-Seneca Canal so we took a right after lock 1 and followed a well-defined canal about 8 miles to Seneca Lake. We’ve now done all the canals in New York.
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June 19 – 15 Years on the Erie Canal
We’re headed east today, we went 50 miles, did seven locks that lowered us 110′ and went under 88 bridges…other than that there is nothing new to tell you about. So I guess I’ll share a little more history on the Erie Canal.
The first company to offer travel on the canal was the Canal Navigation Company. One could travel upon the canal for the small fee of four cents per mile which accounted for board and lodging. A tourist at that time would have paid approximately $2.80 per day. Horses would tow the boats while walking along a towpath paved next to the canal. The boats, held up to 30 people and would travel nearly 80 miles per day switching horses every six hours.
The first company to offer travel on the canal was the Canal Navigation Company. One could travel upon the canal for the small fee of four cents per mile which accounted for board and lodging. A tourist at that time would have paid approximately $2.80 per day. Horses would tow the boats while walking along a towpath paved next to the canal. The boats, held up to 30 people and would travel nearly 80 miles per day switching horses every six hours.
A typical packet boat could accommodate about 30 people. It was about 60-70 feet long, with accommodations for a dining room, where two rows of tables were set. At night, mattresses were spread on the seats of the table and cots were suspended from the roof. The deck was perhaps the biggest attraction of the packet boats. Tourists could see nature, sing, dance, play instruments and completely immerse themselves in this totally new experience. However, passengers quickly discovered that there were many complications that could hamper their experience. Deck-top activity was interrupted every quarter mile by low bridges. When the captain screamed “Low bridge, everybody down!” passengers had to either scamper back into the cabin or lay face down on the deck to avoid getting knocked off the boat. Considering these bridges were a common occurrence, it made recreation on the deck extremely difficult. Inside the boat wasn’t much better either, there was not much of a view and the heat in the summer was unbearable.
The Erie Canal Song was written in 1905 to memorializes life on the Erie Canal between 1825 to 1880 when the mule barges made boomtowns out of Utica, Rome, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, and transformed New York into the Empire State. It’s the most recognized of all the Erie Canal folksongs. It’s interesting to note that the cover depicts a boy riding a mule leaned down to fit under a bridge, but in actuality the song is about the people on the boats and the way they had to duck down or get off the roof to fit under bridges.
You can listen to the song here
June 17 – Waterfalls and Small Town Charm
Spencerport Town Dock
“It’s the preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” —Bertrand Russell
We made another stop along the way today. The small town of Holley has a pretty park that provides free docking. It’s just a short walk through the park to the Holley Canal Falls. The falls are about 35 ft and are feed from the overflow water from the Erie Canal. The water empties into the East Branch of Sandy Creek and eventually makes its way to Lake Ontario. It made a nice place to stretch our legs and have lunch.
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June 16 – Lockport Flight of Five
Canal Port Medina
“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” —Thomas Edison
We started our morning by visiting the North Tonawanda farmers market…it was full of wonderful sections. After enjoying our breakfast at the market and picking up a few items (we should have gotten more) we headed back to the boat and started our trip east, back to Ithaca. Our planned destination for the day was Lockport, so we could explore the old Flight of Five locks. After spending a few hours wandering through town, reading the history of the area and visiting another farmers market, we decided to move a little further east before finishing our day.
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June 14-15 West to Tonawanda
Gateway Harbor
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” ― Jawaharlal Nehru
We woke up on Thursday morning to a sunny but VERY windy day…20+ MPH winds. We usually don’t mind the wind especially when we’re in a river or canal, but we have our isinglass and bimini down. Sitting in the wind gets a little old, so we spent most of the day exploring Medina, visiting with a few people and relaxing. By the middle of the afternoon the wind had laid down a little and we moved on to a little park in Gasport…absolutely nothing in town, but it was a nice peaceful little spot.
